Minority Births Outpace White Births in the US

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More than half of children born in the US are now from racial and ethnic minorities, according to data from the 2011 Census. Non-Hispanic whites now account for 49.6 percent of births in the US; Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race now account for 50.4 percent of births in the US. In contrast, in 1990, racial and minority births comprised 37 percent of births in the US.

Indeed, in the decade ending in 1990, minorities accounted for 92 percent of the nationís population growth.

The shift is nothing less than a “milestone,” says the New York Times, in a “nation whose government was founded by white Europeans and has wrestled mightily with issues of race, from the days of slavery, through a civil war, bitter civil rights battles and, most recently, highly charged debates over efforts to restrict immigration.” William H. Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the census data, said that the shift is an “important tipping point” as it marks a “transformation from a mostly white baby boomer culture to the more globalized multiethnic country that we are becoming.”

It’s a trend that has been underway for the past three decades, due to waves of mostly Hispanic immigrants who have tended to be younger and to have more children than non-Hispanic whites. Overall, the US’s minority population has increased 1.9 percent, to 114.1 million or 36.6 percent, notes the Associated Press. Across the US, whites are no longer the majority in 348 counties. If you consider the toddler population, whites are the minority in twice as many counties. In four states and the District of Columbia, and in many major metro areas including New York, Las Vegas and Memphis, whites are also no longer the majority.

Non-Hispanic whites still comprise the majority of the US population, at 63.4 percent. But their median age is 42; in contrast, the median age of Latinos is 27. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of Hispanic children born in the US exceeded the number of arriving Hispanic immigrants. Since 2008, the birth rate has declined among non-Hispanic whites and minorities in part due to the economic slump: The number of births among non-Hispanic whites has fallen by 11.4 percent, compared to 3.2 percent for minorities, says the†Associated Press

Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, co-director of Immigration studies at New York University, asks a compelling question: “How do we reimagine the social contract when the generations donít look like one another?”†The disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup between the young and the elderly is growing. Notably, the largest gaps are in states — Arizona, Nevada, Texas and California — that have had “flare-ups over immigration, school textbooks and priorities in spending,” says the New York Times, citing the example of Yuma County, Arizona, where 18 percent of those under 20 are white and 73 percent of the population is over 65.†Will older white Americans “balk at paying to educate a younger generation that looks less like themselves?”

Or do we need to keep in mind that many younger Americans are already accustomed to being in classrooms whose racial and ethnic makeup is far different than my late Irish-American in-laws could have imagined, and to growing up in neighborhoods and in families that are themselves diverse?

I lived in a depressed area, in the Bronx, in my early twenties. I knew a bunch Irish-Americans who parents were from Ireland. One by one they became pregnant, All were unmarried When I asked them why they would get pregnant and raise their baby alone, they gave mequite a few reasons. Here theyare:
1) "I want someone to love me."
2) "I can get welfare."
3) "I can get my own apartment and the state will pay the rent."
These girls were not minotirites and they knew, as far back as 1975, that they could get a free ride on the taxpayors dollar. Things haven't changed!

I for one would love for some of these jokers to cut through the crap and just be honest. I am not saying I would like what I hear but at least I would know they would be speaking from their heart. I would like to see them get on national TV and speak out and I believe it would go something like this .

We are here today to make an urgent request of the white people of America. We are here because we have been told that in a few years we will become the minority and we want to stop that from happening. We are asking all WHITE women to pair up with WHITE men and breed like Rabbits in heat. Of course all the jobs that should be going to Americans are now overseas to NON white people but we still want you to do this for us.

By the way until the recession (depression) Corporate Welfare cost the taxpayer 3X what the poor and needy cost us.

Bruce K that is a truly ignorant way of looking at things. Trust me People who have 6 kids are not living good off the government dole. There are always people trying to game the system but mostly they are living in abject poverty.

But there are OTHERS on the government dole that truly ARE living good while stealing Government money .wayyyyyyyyyy more money than welfare people are. The others are Agri-Corps EXXON etc etc. Put in perspective.

I was raised in white neighborhood where you have 2.5 kids, "Because that's the responsible thing to do" Now I am 55, No kids.
I see Minorities with 5, 6 kids getting thousands every tax season, monthly food stamps and cash, medical, and wonder why I didn't do that?
I was never told the government would pay you to have kids?

I was raised be responsible, wait till you can afford to properly raise a child..........so now I'm 55 and no children and I see Minorities with 4,5,6 children getting thousands every year in tax credits and free food and cash every month! I now wonder why I didn't do that? I didn't know the Government would pay you to have kids?

Last time I looked Hispanics were white. They come from southern europe. The med, or this article should say northern European types' with light coloured eyes.
Celts are undoubtably European and white, yet they mostly have black hair and dark eyes like the Gallic look in France or Spain. Italians traditionally have dark hair and tanned skin like Silvio Berlusconi, Latin,(language of Rome) Italians are also known as latins. Is anyone on this site going to deny that Italians are not white? Then why deny the Spanish of being europeans? This is another whitewashing of the truth. The authors of these articles are in denial, making racial divisions where none exist. Many Irish people have Afros! True! Also the welsh celts have raven black hair. Some with blue eyes some with brown and black eyes but with thin lips. There are as many types of Europeans as they are many types of Africans. Not all Africans look Nigerian, and not all Europeans look like Norwegians.

Fascinating. On another Care2 site, there is an article on human eggs for sale but of course one has to choose the "right" genes and at this time Asian and Jewish eggs are in demand. Now this report that highlights that US white births are less than non white births for the first time . Get used to it, folks because whites are in the minority globally, even with the advent of designer babies.

Anyway, for those white supremacists out there, look on the bright side. Multiracial offspring are usually brighter, healthier and better looking than pure breeds.

And it's obviously racism which prompts the GOP to try banning abortions and birth control -- since most of that is carried out on white women.

Actually, most people in the world never were Caucasian, which isn't a particularly attractive race to begin with if you think about it. Since the original population of the Americas is not Caucasian but Native American Indian, why should anybody care if whites are in a minority here or not?

Carrie G
And only them? Who is them? You and them are made from the same essence.
And what about those 2 women that appear on TV that gave birth to 29 people between them both, and are still gloriified by the media? No complaints about them? You sound really racist and narrow minded.